JP2002156775A - Color toner for flash fixing - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a color toner having high quality and high fixing property which can be subjected to flash fixing. SOLUTION: The color toner for flash fixing contains a binder resin, coloring agent, electrification control agent, wax and IR absorbent, with the IR absorbent being held in the wax.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a flash fixing toner for visualizing an electrostatic latent image formed by electrophotography or the like. More specifically, the present invention relates to a color toner for flash fixing in which an infrared light absorbing agent is selectively retained in wax (WAX). 2. Description of the Related Art Image forming apparatuses such as copiers and printers that use electrophotography have rapidly become colorized in recent years. In a color toner used to form a color image by flash fixing, it is necessary to reduce the cost while improving the image quality.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In electrophotography, a uniform electrostatic charge is applied to a photoconductive insulator (such as a photoreceptor drum), and an electrostatic image is irradiated on the photoconductive insulator by various means. An electrostatic latent image is formed. Next, development (visualization) is performed by forming a toner powder image on the latent image using fine powder called toner. After transferring the toner powder image to a recording medium such as paper, a printed matter is obtained through a predetermined toner fixing process.

In the fixing step, the toner on the recording medium is melted by pressure, heat, solvent vapor, light, etc., and is fixed to the recording medium. In recent years, an optical fixing method of irradiating a toner powder image with strong light to melt the toner has attracted attention for the following reasons. (1) Because of non-contact fixing, image bleeding during the fixing process
A clear image with a high resolution is obtained without generating dust. (2) Quick start is possible with almost no waiting time after turning on the power of the apparatus. (3) Even if a recording medium such as a sheet stagnates in the fixing device due to the system down, there is no danger of fire because of non-contact, and the safety is high. (4) Fixing is possible regardless of the material and thickness of the recording paper, such as glued paper, preprinted paper, and paper of different thicknesses.

[0004] At present, a general flash fixing method is a flash fixing method using a xenon flash lamp as a light source.

[0005]

However, in the flash fixing method, since light energy is converted into heat energy to fuse the toner to fix the toner, insufficient fixing may cause a problem due to insufficient melting of the toner. In the case of poor fixing, there is a problem that the fixed image is peeled off from the sheet due to bending or rubbing of the sheet, and the image quality is deteriorated.
To prevent this, it is necessary that the toner used in the flash fixing method be designed so that it absorbs light energy, is sufficiently melted, penetrates the paper, and is firmly fixed.
In the xenon flash fixing method, a light source having a high emission intensity in the infrared region is used, and the toner is melted by the energy of light irradiation. Therefore, it is necessary to design the toner so that the infrared light absorbing ability of the toner is improved and the toner is sufficiently melted.

By the way, in the case of a black toner, carbon used as a colorant generally has a light absorbing property over a wide wavelength range, so that the light absorbing ability of the toner itself does not matter. Therefore, as a measure to improve the fixability with black toner,
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 9-22147 and 9-25
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 8471 and the like, the main problem is to make the toner easy to melt, and measures have been taken to add a highly fusible wax or the like.

However, in recent years, colorization of output images has been rapidly progressing. The color toner inevitably has a lower light absorption efficiency than the black toner, and is likely to be defective in fixing. In order to solve this problem, for the color toner, not only the above-mentioned guideline of “designing a soluble toner” of the black toner but also another approach is required. Specifically, it is an important task to improve the light absorbing ability of the color toner.

For example, in JP-A-61-132959, an infrared light absorber comprising an aminium salt compound and a diimmonium salt compound is added to a color toner.
A technique for improving the infrared absorption efficiency is disclosed. In general, many compounds having a high infrared light absorbing ability have a hue from brown to black. However, the above-mentioned aminium salt-based compounds and the like exhibit excellent infrared light absorbing ability and have a light color tone in the visible light region, so that the influence on the original hue of the color toner is small, and the light absorption of the color toner is small. At present, it is considered to be a very useful compound as an additive to complement the function.

The infrared light absorber such as the above-mentioned aminium salt compound is an ionic compound and has high polarity. Therefore, it is compatible with highly polar resins such as polyester and styrene-acryl, which are generally used as a binder resin for toner. Further, a charge control agent is added to the toner in order to control its charge state, and this charge control agent also has polarity. Therefore, the infrared light absorber and the charge control agent, both of which have polarity, come into contact with each other in the binder resin and react with each other to adversely affect the charge control of the toner.

[0010] In parallel with the above problem, the infrared light absorbing agent also reduces the infrared absorbing ability. In order to satisfy the flash fixability of the color toner, it is necessary to add a large amount of an infrared light absorbing agent to the toner, and even when a light-colored infrared light absorbing agent such as an aminium salt compound is used, It will affect hue. In addition, an increase in the amount of the infrared light absorber leads to an increase in toner production cost.

Accordingly, it is a main object of the present invention to provide a color toner which is excellent in charge state, has high infrared absorbing ability, is superior in material cost, and is capable of flash fixing with high quality and high fixability. Is to do.

[0012]

The object of the present invention is to provide a binder resin, a colorant, a charge control agent, a wax and an infrared light absorber, wherein the infrared light absorber is contained in the wax. This is achieved by the flash fixing color toner held in the printer.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the infrared light absorbing agent is selectively held in the wax, and the contact with the charge controlling agent is suppressed. Thereby, each of the charge controlling agent and the infrared light absorbing agent can sufficiently exhibit their original functions. Therefore, the charged state of the toner becomes good,
Sufficient absorption of infrared light ensures that the toner melts. Therefore, it can be provided as a flash fixing color toner having high resolution and high fixability. Further, in the present toner, since the charge control agent and the infrared light absorbing agent do not react with each other and deteriorate, the amount of addition can be suppressed, and the toner manufacturing cost can be reduced.

The infrared light absorbing agent selectively held in the wax includes a state buried in the wax and a state buried in or near the surface of the wax. Further, it is preferable that the infrared light absorbing agent is present in a dispersed state in the wax. If the infrared light absorbing agent is completely buried in the wax, there is no contact with the charge controlling agent and the deterioration reaction can be surely suppressed. In addition, even when there is an infrared light absorbing agent partially exposed from the wax surface, the chance of contact with the charge controlling agent is reduced as compared with the related art, so that the charge controlling agent and the infrared light absorbing agent are not used. Deterioration by reacting with each other can be prevented.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the color toner for flash fixing according to the first aspect, it is preferable that the wax is scattered like islands in the binder resin.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the wax, which is generally a low-polarity material, is scattered in islands in the polar binder resin, and the infrared light absorbing agent is selectively retained in the wax. It becomes a form to do. Therefore, the chance of contact with the charge controlling agent can be greatly suppressed as compared with the conventional case where the infrared light absorbing agent is randomly dispersed.

Also, since wax is originally a fixing aid added to enhance the meltability of the toner, the wax contains an infrared light absorbing agent which converts the energy of flash light into heat, so that the wax is inherently used. This is also preferable in that a state in which the function described above is easily exhibited is formed. And from the viewpoint that the wax functions as a fixing aid in this way,
The softening temperature is preferably lower than that of the binder resin.

Then, as described in claim 3, claim 2
In the color toner for flash fixing described above, the wax may be a material selected from the group consisting of polyolefin, fatty acid ester, paraffin wax, carnauba wax, amide wax and acid-modified polyethylene, or a mixture thereof.

As the wax material, a non-polar material such as polyolefin which forms an island in a binder resin can be used. In addition, a material having partial polarity, a fatty acid ester type, an amide type wax, an acid-modified polyethylene, or the like may be used as long as it is prepared to have a low polarity and can similarly form islands in the binder resin. Also, a wax that can form islands in the binder resin may be used for these mixtures.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the color toner for flash fixing according to any one of the first to third aspects, the infrared light absorber is an aminium salt-based compound and / or a diimonium salt-based compound. It is preferable that

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the aminium salt-based compound and / or diimmonium salt-based compound having a high infrared light absorbing ability reliably melts the toner by using flash light, so that a higher fixing is achieved. Color toner for flash fixing.

The aminium salt compound is, for example, represented by the following formula (1):

[0023]

Embedded image The diimonium salt compound can be represented by the following formula (2).

[0024]

Embedded image In the general formulas (1) and (2), each of R _{1 to} R ₄ is any one of a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, a substituted alkyl group, a cyclic alkyl group, an alkenyl group, an aralkyl group, and a substituted aralkyl group; X ^- represents an anion.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the color toner for flash fixing according to the fourth aspect, it is recommended that the wax further contains a surfactant.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to form a state in which the surfactant acts to hold the infrared light absorbing agent such as a polar aminium salt compound in the wax. As the surfactant, sorbitan fatty acid ester, polyether, polyol, or the like can be used, and the amount of the surfactant is preferably 0.001 to 1 Wt% based on the wax.

The above-mentioned color toner for flash fixing is prepared by melt-mixing a wax, an infrared absorber and a surfactant, and then pulverizing the melt, thereby holding the infrared absorber in the wax. A first step of obtaining wax particles containing an agent, and a second step of mixing the wax particles containing an infrared light absorber, a binder resin, a colorant, and a charge control agent and then pulverizing the mixture to obtain toner particles. It can be manufactured by a manufacturing method.

According to this manufacturing method, when the binder resin is "sea", the wax can be formed in an "island" shape, and a state in which the infrared light absorbing agent is held in the island can be formed.

[0029]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A color toner for flash fixing according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an enlarged schematic view of one particle of a color toner 10 for flash fixing of the present invention (hereinafter simply referred to as a color toner 10). For comparison, a schematic configuration of a conventional flash fixing color toner 20 containing an infrared light absorbing agent is also shown in FIG.

An infrared light absorbing agent having a high infrared light absorbing ability is often an ionic compound and has a high polarity. Resins such as polyester and styrene-acryl, which are generally used as binder resins for toner, also have high polarity.
Therefore, like the conventional color toner 20 shown in FIG.
Generally, the infrared light absorber 23 and the binder resin 21 have good compatibility. The charge control agent 25 added for controlling the charge of the toner also has polarity. Therefore, as described above, in a state where the infrared light absorber 23 and the charge control agent 25 are kneaded in the binder resin 21, the infrared light absorber 23
And the charge control agent 25 come into contact with each other and react with each other, thereby impairing the charge control function and the infrared light absorption function of each. Note that a colorant is indicated by reference numeral 24.

On the other hand, since the infrared light absorber 23 is a material having a high polarity, it is difficult to disperse it in the wax 22 which is a low-polar or non-polar material such as polyolefin. The inventors of the present application attempted to mix the wax 22 and the infrared light absorber 23 by a usual melt-kneading method, but it was not possible to separate the two and to retain the infrared light absorber 23 in the wax 22. could not.

Accordingly, the present inventors have conducted intensive studies on the structure in which the wax 22 holds an infrared light absorbing agent. As a result, they have found that the infrared light absorbing agent can be retained in the wax by activating the interface between the wax and the infrared light absorbing agent. That is, it was confirmed that a state in which the infrared light absorbing agent was retained in the wax could be formed by adding a substance having a surface active function together with the infrared light absorbing agent. As the material having the surface active function (surfactant), for example, sorbitan aliphatic ester, polyether, polyol, alkyl polyoxyethylene surfactant, alkylphenyl polyoxyethylene surfactant, or the like can be used. it can.

That is, the color toner 10 of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 is in a state where the infrared light absorbing agent 13 is held in the wax 12. The color toner 10 includes the infrared light absorbing agent 1
3 is selectively buried in the wax 12 and / or is kept partially exposed from the surface of the wax 12. Since the exposure of the infrared light absorber 13 to the surface of the color toner 10 is suppressed, the chance of contact with the charge control agent 15 is greatly suppressed, and the influence on the chargeability can be reduced. At the same time, it is possible to suppress the infrared light absorbing ability of the infrared light absorbing agent 13 from decreasing. Therefore, the added charge control agent 15 and infrared light absorbing agent 13 do not deteriorate, and each of them exerts its original function, so that it is possible to form an image with high image quality and high fixability at lower cost than the conventional toner 20. Flash fixing color toner. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 14 denotes a colorant described later.

Hereinafter, each material constituting the color toner 10 will be described.

First, the infrared light absorber 13 will be described. Infrared absorber 1 used in color toner 10 of the present invention
Preferred as 3 is an aminium-based compound represented by the following formula (1) or a diimmonium-based compound represented by the following formula (2). These compounds can be used alone or in combination. Aminium-based compounds and diimonium-based compounds have a high infrared light absorbing ability and are light-colored, so that they hardly affect the hue of a fixed image. Further, in the present color toner 10, as described above, the addition amount of the infrared light absorber 13 can be suppressed, so that it is not necessary to consider the influence on the hue.

As the infrared light absorber 13, for example, C
IR-960, CIR-961, CIR-963, CI
R-1080, CIR-1081, CIR-1083
(Manufactured by Nippon Carlit) can be used.

[0037]

Embedded image In the general formulas (1) and (2), each of R _{1 to} R ₄ is any one of a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, a substituted alkyl group, a cyclic alkyl group, an alkenyl group, an aralkyl group, and a substituted aralkyl group; X ^- is an anion.

As the wax 12, a low- or non-polar ordinary wax such as polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene, fatty acid esters, paraffin wax, carnauba wax, amide-based wax and acid-modified polyethylene is used alone or It can be widely used as a mixture of these. Color toner 10
From the viewpoint of complementing or improving the fixability of the wax, the softening temperature of the wax 12 is preferably 150 ° C. or less,
In particular, it is recommended to use a binder resin having a softening temperature lower than the melting softening temperature.

As the surfactant, a sorbitan aliphatic ester can be used. Sorbitan aliphatic esters having an HLB value of 8 or less can be suitably used. As apparent from the above description, the surfactant exists at the boundary surface 20 between the wax 12 and the infrared light absorber 13 and functions to hold the infrared light absorber 13 in the wax 12. Presumed. This surfactant is also present at the interface between the wax 12 and the binder resin 11, and forms a state in which the non-polar or low-polarity wax 12 is scattered in an island shape in the high-polarity binder resin 21. It is presumed that it also helps.

The binder resin 11 is not particularly limited, and a conventional material can be used, and a thermoplastic resin made of various natural or synthetic polymer substances can be used. For example, an epoxy resin, a styrene-acryl resin, a polyamide resin, a polyester resin, a polyvinyl resin, a polyurethane resin, a polybutadiene resin having a weight average molecular weight of about 5,000 to 100,000 and a melting point of 90 to 140 ° C. may be used alone or in combination. Can be.

Colorant 14 contained in color toner 10
Is not particularly limited, and conventional dyes and pigments can be used. For example, quinacridone (red), phthalocyanine (blue or the like), anthraquinone (red), disazo (red or yellow), monoazo (red), anilide compound (yellow), benzidine (yellow), benzimidazolone (yellow), Halogenated phthalocyanine (green) or the like can be used.

The charge control agent 15 is not particularly limited as long as it has a capability of imparting charge to the toner, but is preferably colorless and pale in consideration of use in a color toner. Preferably, a quaternary ammonium salt (colorless), a nigrosine dye (black), a triphenylmethane derivative (blue), or the like as a positive charge control agent, a metal naphthol acid complex (colorless), a metal salicylate complex (colorless), boron A compound or the like can be used as the negative charge control agent.

Further, an external additive may be further added to the color toner 10 in order to impart fluidity or the like. As the additives that can be used here, commonly used materials can be widely used. For example, silica, titania,
Inorganic fine particles such as alumina and zinc oxide and polystyrene,
Resin particles such as PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) and melamine resin can be used.

In the color toner 10 illustrated in FIG. 1, waxes 12 are scattered in an “island” shape in a binder resin 11 (“sea”), and an infrared light absorbing portion 13 is held in the wax 12. State. In FIG. 1, the infrared light absorbing portion 13 is held in a dispersed state in the wax 12. As will be described later, when the wax 12, the infrared light absorbing portion 13, and the surfactant are mixed and melt-kneaded in the manufacturing process, a state in which the infrared light absorbing portion 13 is dispersed and held in the wax 12 can be formed. .

In some cases, the infrared light absorbing portion 13 exposed from the surface of the wax 12 exists. However, as compared with the conventional toner shown in FIG. It can be easily understood that is greatly reduced.

A production example of the flash fixing color toner of the present invention will be described below.

The flash fixing color toner of the present invention must be manufactured in a state where the infrared light absorbing agent is held in the wax. Therefore, in the following production examples, a wax, an infrared light absorber, and a surfactant are melt-mixed and then pulverized to obtain wax particles containing an infrared light absorber. Mixing the wax particles containing the infrared light absorbing agent, the binder resin, the colorant, and the charge control agent, and then pulverizing the mixture to obtain color toner particles.
Manufactured through steps.

For example, in the first step, after mixing an infrared light absorber, a wax, and a sorbitan aliphatic ester, these materials are melt-kneaded using a kneader, an extruder, or the like, and then the wax containing the infrared light absorber is mixed. Get. At this time, conditions such as temperature are appropriately controlled to form a favorable dispersion state of the infrared light absorber in the wax. In consideration of the formation of the color toner in the subsequent second step, the wax containing the infrared light absorbing agent is preliminarily pulverized to a desired particle size using a pulverizer such as a jet mill.

The subsequent second step can be carried out in the same manner as in a normal toner preparation method, except that the infrared-absorbing agent-containing wax particles obtained in the first step are used.
In the second step of finally forming a color toner, a pulverization method or a polymerization method can be used.

When a color toner is prepared by a pulverization method, a binder resin, the wax containing an infrared light absorbing agent, a coloring agent,
After mixing the toner components such as the charge control agent, these materials are melt-kneaded using a kneader, an extruder or the like. At that time, the kneading strength is adjusted so that the infrared light absorbent held in the wax does not elute into the binder resin. Thereafter, the melt-kneaded product is roughly pulverized, finely pulverized by a jet mill or the like, and toner particles having a target particle diameter are obtained by an air classifier. Further, if necessary, an external additive is appropriately added to complete the final color toner.

When a color toner is prepared by a polymerization method, a suspension polymerization method and an emulsion polymerization method can be mainly applied. When made by suspension polymerization, styrene, butyl acrylate,
Mixing monomers such as 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, crosslinking agents such as divinylbenzene, chain transfer agents such as dodecyl mercaptan, coloring agents, charge controlling agents, the wax composition powder containing the infrared light absorbing agent, and a polymerization initiator. Create things. Thereafter, the monomer composition is put into an aqueous phase containing a suspension stabilizer such as tricalcium phosphate and polyvinyl alcohol, and a surfactant, and a rotor-stator emulsifier, a high-pressure emulsifier, and an ultrasonic emulsifier are used. After preparing the emulsion using a machine or the like, polymerization of the monomer is performed by heating. After the polymerization, the particles are washed and dried, and an external additive is added to obtain final toner particles.

When prepared by an emulsion polymerization method, a water-soluble polymerization initiator such as potassium persulfate is dissolved in water and a monomer such as styrene, butyl acrylate, or 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, and if necessary, an interface such as sodium doresyl sulfate. An activator is added, and the mixture is heated and polymerized while stirring to obtain resin particles. Thereafter, the powder of the wax composition containing the infrared light absorber was added to the suspension in which the resin particles were dispersed, and the pH of the suspension, stirring strength,
By adjusting the temperature and the like, the resin particles and the wax composition powder containing the infrared light absorber are hetero-aggregated. Further, the system is heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the glass transition temperature of the resin, and the hetero aggregate is fused to obtain toner particles. Then washing the particles,
After drying, an external additive is added to obtain final color toner particles. Hereinafter, examples of the color toner for flash fixing of the present invention will be further described, but the present invention is not limited to these examples. Example 1 In the first step, 60 parts by weight of a wax having a softening temperature of 75 ° C. (HNP-9, manufactured by Nippon Seisaku) and an aminium salt compound (N, N, N ′, N′-tetrakis (p -Dibutylamino) p-phenylenediamine perchlorate aminium perchlorate (40 parts by weight, Teikoku Chemical) and 0.3 parts by weight of a sorbitan aliphatic ester (Ionnet S-85, Sanyo Chemical) are melted after mixing. The mixture was kneaded to obtain a wax containing an infrared light absorber. Thereafter, the wax containing the infrared light absorber was pulverized to obtain a powder of the wax containing the infrared light absorber.
This powder is referred to as wax-A.

As a binder resin, an ethylene oxide adduct of terephthalic acid and bisphenol A, bis (4
A modified sulfonic acid polyester resin having an acid value of 30 mg / KOH and a softening temperature of 104 ° C., which contains (hydroxyphenyl) sulfonic acid as an essential constituent monomer, was used. In the second step, 5 wt% of a phthalocyanine pigment (B2G, Clariant) as a blue colorant is added to the binder resin.
%, A calixarene compound (E-8)
9, 3% by weight of Orient) and 4 parts of the above wax-A.
By weight addition, the mixture was melt-kneaded, and then crushed and classified to obtain a color toner base 10-1 for flash fixing.

This toner base 10-1 was mixed with a ferrite carrier having a particle size of 60 μm at a toner concentration of 4.5%, and
After stirring for 0 minutes, the charge amount was measured with a blow-off charge amount measuring device (manufactured by Toshiba Chemical Co., Ltd.) and found to have a charge amount of -9 μC / g.

Further, in order to use the toner base 10-1 as a use form, hydrophobic silica (H-200) is used as an external additive.
0, Clariant) (0.35 parts by weight). This toner matrix 10-1 was mixed with a ferrite carrier having a particle diameter of 60 μm at a toner concentration of 4.5% to form a developer, and the charge amount was measured by a blow-off charge amount measuring device (manufactured by Toshiba Chemical) to be −12 μC / g. Is shown.

The developer was mounted on a printer (manufactured by Fujitsu, product number F6718K), and the flash fixability and image quality were examined. As a result, good image quality with little fogging was obtained, and high fixing property with a fixing rate of 90% (tape peeling test) was exhibited. Comparative Example 1 Unlike Example 1, 60 parts by weight of a wax (HNP-9, manufactured by Nippon Seisaku) and an aminium salt compound (N, N) were used without using a sorbitan aliphatic ester as a surfactant. , N ', N'-tetrakis (p-
After mixing with 40 parts by weight of dibutylamino) p-phenylenediamine perchlorate aminium salt (manufactured by Teikoku Chemical Co., Ltd.), melt kneading was performed. Phase separation occurred between the wax and the aminium salt compound, and a good mixture could not be obtained.

From the results, it can be confirmed that the surfactant (sorbitan aliphatic ester) was functioning effectively because the infrared light absorbing agent was retained in the wax. Comparative Example 2 The same material as in Example 1 was used, but the production method was changed, and a toner was produced in a single mixing and melt-kneading process.

That is, as the binder resin, a modified sulfonic acid polyester resin having an acid value of 30 mg / KOH and having an ethylene oxide adduct of terephthalic acid and bisphenol A and bis (4-hydroxyphenyl) sulfonic acid as essential constituent monomers was used. Phthalocyanine pigment (B2G, Clariant) for this binder resin
5 wt%, a calixarene compound (E-89, manufactured by Orient), 3 wt%, a wax (HNP-9, manufactured by Nippon Seisaku) 2.4 wt%, and an aminium salt compound (N,
N, N ', N'-tetrakis (p-dibutylamino) p
1.6 wt% of phenylenediamine perchlorate (manufactured by Teikoku Chemical Co., Ltd.), melt-kneaded, and then pulverized and classified to obtain a toner base 10-2.

The toner base 10-2 also has the first
As in the case of the toner base 10-1 of the embodiment, the particle diameter is 60
After mixing with a μm ferrite carrier at a toner concentration of 4.5% and stirring for 10 minutes, the charge amount was measured with a blow-off charge amount measuring device (manufactured by Toshiba Chemical). Toner base 10-
In the case of No. 2, the charge amount was −3 μC / g, and the charge amount was reduced to １ ／ as compared with the toner base 10-1 of Example 1.

Further, as in the case of the toner base 10-1 of Example 1, 0.35 of hydrophobic silica (H-2000, manufactured by Clariant) was added to the toner base 10-2 as an external additive.
The mixture was mixed with a ferrite carrier having a particle size of 60 μm at a toner concentration of 4.5% to prepare a developer. When the charge amount was measured with a blow-off charge amount measuring device (manufactured by Toshiba Chemical), the charge amount was −5 μC / g. Also in the case where the developer was used, the charge amount was reduced to 5/12 as compared with Example 1.

The above developer was mounted on the printer (Fujitsu: product number F6718K), and the flash fixability and image quality were investigated. As a result, the image quality was poor with many fogs, and satisfactory fixability was not obtained.

The toner of Comparative Example 2 is in the state shown in FIG. 2. Since the charge control agent is deteriorated by contact with the infrared light absorbing agent not held in the wax, it can be estimated that the charge amount has sharply decreased. That is, since the infrared light absorbing agent is not held in the wax, the infrared light absorbing agent and the charge control agent react with each other to reduce the toner charge amount and the infrared absorbing ability, so that the image quality and It is considered that the fixability was deteriorated. Example 2 In this example, a flash fixing toner was manufactured using a red colorant different from the blue colorant used in Example 1.

Using the same binder resin as in Example 1, 6 wt% of a red naphthol pigment (FBB02, Clariant), 3 wt% of a calixarene compound (E-89, Orient) based on the binder resin,
4 wt% of the wax-A used in Example 1 was added, and the mixture was melt-kneaded and further pulverized and classified to obtain a toner base 10.
-3 was obtained.

This toner matrix 10-3 was mixed with a ferrite carrier having a particle size of 60 μm at a toner concentration of 4.5%, and
Stirred for 0 minutes. The charge amount of the toner base 10-3 was measured by a blow-off charge amount measuring device (manufactured by Toshiba Chemical Co., Ltd.). As a result, the charge amount was −7 μC / g.

As in Example 1, 0.5 parts by weight of hydrophobic silica (H-2000, manufactured by Clariant) was added as an external additive to the toner base, and a ferrite carrier having a particle size of 60 μm and a toner concentration of 4 parts were added. It was mixed at 0.5% to form a developer. The charge amount of this developer was measured by a blow-off charge amount measuring device (manufactured by Toshiba Chemical), and was -12 μC / g.
Is shown. This developer was mounted on the printer (Fujitsu: product number F6718K), and the flash fixability and image quality were examined.

As a result, good image quality with less fogging is obtained.
An image having an excellent fixing property with a fixing rate of 90% (tape peeling test) was obtained.

Accordingly, it can be confirmed from Examples 1 and 2 that the color toner of this example can form a clear image with high fixability regardless of the type of the colorant. [Comparative Example 3] This Comparative Example 3 shows a case where a wax having a softening temperature higher than the softening temperature of the binder resin is used.

In Comparative Example 3, 60 parts by weight of a wax having a softening temperature of 150 ° C. (Viscol 550P, manufactured by Sanyo Chemical Co., Ltd.)
40 parts by weight of an aminium salt-based compound (N, N, N ', N'-tetrakis (p-dibutylamino) p-phenylenediamine perchlorate aminium salt, manufactured by Teikoku Chemical) and a sorbitan aliphatic ester (IONET S-85) 0.3)
Then, the mixture was melt-kneaded to obtain a wax containing an infrared light absorber. This infrared light absorbing wax was pulverized to obtain a powder. Hereinafter, this powder is referred to as wax-B.

A toner was manufactured in the same manner as in Example 2 except that the wax-A in Example 2 was changed to the above-mentioned wax-B. 4 wt% of wax-B was added, melt-kneaded, and further pulverized and classified to obtain a toner base 10-4.

Further, as in the case of the toner of Example 2, 0.5 parts by weight of hydrophobic silica (H-2000, manufactured by Clariant) was added to the toner base 10-4 as an external additive, and the particle diameter was 60 μm. And ferrite carrier at a toner concentration of 4.5% to form a developer. When the charge amount of the developer was measured by a blow-off charge amount measuring device (manufactured by Toshiba Chemical Co., Ltd.), the charge amount was −12 μC / g. The developer was mounted on the printer (manufactured by Fujitsu), and the flash fixability and image quality were examined.

As a result, fog was small and the image quality was good. However, although the fixing rate was 80% (tape peeling test), which was practical, it was confirmed that the fixing property was slightly lower than that in Example 2.

In Comparative Example 3, as in the toner of Example 2, the contact between the infrared light absorbing agent and the charge control agent is suppressed, so that they do not react with each other and deteriorate. Therefore, it can be estimated that the charging property and the infrared light absorbing ability of the toner were in a favorable state. However, since the softening temperature of the wax holding the infrared light absorbing agent was increased, it can be estimated that the fixing property was slightly lowered. Therefore, it can be confirmed that it is more desirable to use a wax having a softening temperature lower than that of the binder resin from the viewpoint of improving fixability.

In the above-described embodiment, the method using a carrier
Although the test was performed in the form of a component developer, it goes without saying that the developer can be used as a one-component developer. (Added after drafting) Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment, and is within the scope of the present invention described in the appended claims. Various modifications and changes are possible.

The following supplementary notes are disclosed with respect to the above description.

(Supplementary Note 1) A flash fixing color toner containing a binder resin, a colorant, a charge control agent, a wax and an infrared light absorber, wherein the infrared light absorber is held in the wax.

(Supplementary Note 2) The flash fixing color toner according to Supplementary Note 1, wherein the wax is scattered in an island shape in the binder resin.

(Supplementary Note 3) In the color toner for flash fixing according to Supplementary Note 2, the wax is a material selected from the group consisting of polyolefin, fatty acid ester, paraffin wax, carnauba wax, amide-based wax, and acid-modified polyethylene, or these. A color toner for flash fixing, characterized by being a mixture of:

(Supplementary Note 4) The flash fixing color toner according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 3, wherein the infrared light absorber is an aminium salt compound and / or a diimonium salt compound. Fixing color toner.

(Supplementary Note 5) The flash fixing color toner according to Supplementary Note 4, wherein the wax further contains a surfactant.

(Supplementary Note 6) The flash fixing color toner according to Supplementary Note 5, wherein the surfactant is a sorbitan fatty acid ester.

(Supplementary Note 7) The wax particles containing the infrared light absorbing agent in which the wax, the infrared light absorbing agent, and the surfactant are melt-mixed and then pulverized to hold the infrared light absorbing agent in the wax. A flash fixing color, comprising: a first step of obtaining, and a second step of mixing the wax particles containing an infrared light absorber, a binder resin, a colorant, and a charge control agent, and then pulverizing the mixture to obtain toner particles. Manufacturing method of toner.

(Supplementary Note 8) The method for producing a color toner for flash fixing according to Supplementary Note 7, wherein the infrared light absorbing agent is an aminium salt-based compound and / or a diimonium salt-based compound. A method for producing a color toner.

(Supplementary Note 9) The method for producing a flash fixing color toner according to Supplementary Note 8, wherein the surfactant is a sorbitan fatty acid ester.

[0084]

As is apparent from the above detailed description, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the infrared light absorbing agent is selectively held in the wax, and the infrared light absorbing agent has a charge controlling agent. Contact is suppressed. Thereby, each of the charge controlling agent and the infrared light absorbing agent can sufficiently exhibit their original functions. As a result, the charged state of the toner becomes good, and the toner is reliably melted by sufficient absorption of infrared light.
Therefore, it can be provided as a flash fixing color toner having high resolution and high fixability.

Further, in the present toner, the charge control agent and the infrared light absorbing agent do not react with each other and deteriorate, so that the amount of addition can be suppressed and the production cost of the toner can be reduced.

According to the second and third aspects of the present invention, the wax, which is generally a low-polarity material, is scattered in islands in the polar binder resin, and the infrared light absorbing agent is contained in the wax. Is selectively held. Therefore, the chance of contact with the charge controlling agent can be greatly suppressed as compared with the conventional case where the infrared light absorbing agent is randomly dispersed.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the aminium salt-based compound and / or diimonium salt-based compound having a high infrared light absorbing ability reliably melts the toner by using flash light, so that the higher the absorption rate. It becomes a color toner for flash fixing with fixability.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to form a state in which the surfactant acts to hold the polar infrared light absorbing agent in the wax.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an enlarged schematic view of one particle of a color toner for flash fixing of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an enlarged schematic view of one particle of a conventional color toner for flash fixing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Particles of color toner for flash fixing 11 Binder resin 12 Wax (WAX) 13 Infrared light absorber 14 Colorant 15 Charge control agent

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yoshimichi Katagiri 4-1-1, Kamiodanaka, Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa F-term in Fujitsu Limited (Reference) 2H005 AA06 AA21 CA14 CA23 CA30 FB03

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A flash fixing color toner comprising a binder resin, a colorant, a charge control agent, a wax, and an infrared light absorber, wherein the infrared light absorber is held in the wax. 2. The color toner for flash fixing according to claim 1, wherein the wax is scattered in islands in the binder resin. 3. The color toner for flash fixing according to claim 2, wherein the wax is a material selected from the group consisting of a polyolefin, a fatty acid ester, a paraffin wax, a carnauba wax, an amide-based wax, and an acid-modified polyethylene. A color toner for flash fixing, which is a mixture. 4. The flash fixing color toner according to claim 1, wherein the infrared light absorber is an aminium salt-based compound and / or a diimmonium salt-based compound. Color toner. 5. The flash fixing color toner according to claim 4, wherein the wax further contains a surfactant.